The impossible choice
by Mrs Potter-Jackson-Holmes
Summary: "The clocks ticking John, so whose it gonna be?" John stared between his best friend and his wife. He knew if he didn't pick soon the whole building was going to blow. Slowly he aimed the gun. What happens when John is forced to shoot someone in the room. How could he pick between them? or is there another option? Possible Johnlock slash fic, definite bromance and plenty of fluff.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N So I thought I would have a crack at a Sherlock fiction. I don't plan on making this a Johnlock at the moment but that** **may change. So enjoy and please tell me what you think :)**

JMS

John sat in front of the fireplace of 221b Baker Street and watched as Sherlock paced back and forth in front of him. He no longer lived here of course, but between escaping a hormonal wife and solving cases with Sherlock, he hardly ever left.

It had been two weeks since Moriaty's face had appeared throughout London, and since then it had happened three more times. No one could figure out how it was happening and the police couldn't even trace the signal. The perfect case for Sherlock Holmes.

"Eliminate"

John looked up from the fireplace, Sherlock had been muttering that word over and over again for the past hour.

"What are you talking about?" John finally asked.

Sherlock didn't answer, but instead continued pacing. About five minutes later he looked up at John.

"Did you say something?" He asked

John rolled his eyes. Typical.

"I said what are you talking about?"

Sherlock looked confused.

"Talking? I wasn't talking, when was I talking? Was I doing it again?"

Now it was John's turn to be confused.

"Doing what?"

"Never mind. What did I say?"

"You keep repeating eliminate over and over again" John replied. "You've been doing it for the past hour now."

Sherlock stopped pacing and went over to the wall where he had stuck all his theories on the case. There was writing over all the pages and pictures. For the past two weeks all Sherlock had done was pace the room, play his violin or stare at this wall.

"I'm trying to eliminate all the impossible or least likely theories. I keep telling myself that it's impossible for Moriaty to be alive because I saw him die. Then again," he said clearly seeing the hole in that theory, "you also saw me die and I'm clearly not dead"

John cringed at the memory and for a second something flittered across Sherlock's face. Was that guilt? It was replaced a second later by his expressionless mask, and John convinced himself it had been his imagination.

"So what do we do then?" John asked. "We have no leads and all our theories are less likely than the last?"

As John said this, Sherlock's phone buzzed. He picked it up and John knew immediately that something was wrong.

"No, it can't be." Sherlock said

"What is it?" He asked Sherlock who now looked deep in thought. Sherlock didn't sound worried exactly, more like he genuinely didn't believe what he has just read.

He handed the phone over to John wordlessly.

_SH_

_Did you miss me?_

_JMS_

John could feel his stomach sinking. If Moriaty really was back...

But no. He read the text again and he noticed what he hadn't the first time.

"Who's JMS?" He asked Sherlock

"If JMS stands for what I think it does than we may end up wishing that Moriaty really was behind this all."

"Who is he then?" John asked.

"About five years ago there where two identical cases of serial murder almost back to back. The first time five people where killed, all in similar situations, eventually Lestrade and I managed to track down and arrest the man responsible with help from a bartender from New Jersey and a woman with one arm."

John gave sherlock a quizzical look.

"Long story."

"So then that's who he is?" John asked, confused. Why was Sherlock so worried about a murderer?

"No." sherlock answered offering no further explanation.

"Then what does that have to do with the message?"

"Use your brain John, what happened next?" Sherlock said, clearly frustrated at John. "Think."

"How am I supposed to know?" John asked feeling slightly defensive.

"It was all over the news. Everyone in London heard about it."

"I wasn't in London" John replied so quietly that Sherlock almost missed it.

The guilty look flittered across Sherlock's face again. There was an awkward silence between the two of them until Sherlock continued with his explanation.

"Well once we had arrested him we thought the case was closed, but a week later the murders started again. For a while there we thought we had arrested the wrong man. Until I realized there was one difference between these murders and the original murders. Wherever we found a body there was always the letters CC marked at the crime scene."

"What does CC stand for?"

"Copy cat. Quite an unoriginal nickname if you ask me, but we thought CC was his initials until one of the crime scenes was marked Copy cat instead. We eventually found out his real name though. Jeffery Michael Sanderson, the criminal copy cat. Once we figured who was behind it the murders stopped and we never heard anything about him again. We went through a couple of other cases where the crimes had continued after the perpetrator had been arrested and all the photos from the crime scenes had CC somewhere."

"So what's he doing now? Why is he using Moriaty's picture?"

"I think, perhaps, we may have a problem on our hands." Sherlock replied, almost excited.

"I still don't follow." John said feeling rather stupid.

"Well think about it John. A man that copies the patterns of other criminals, now broadcasting Moriaty's face all over London."

"So we have a Moriaty impersonator on the loose?" John asked, stomach sinking.

"Not just that John, who was Moriaty's main target?"

"You." John answered, realization sinking in.

"And in turn you John. I'm sorry. But I swear I'm not going to stop until this man is behind bars." Sherlock said.

That was the most sincere thing John had ever heard sherlock say and was slightly taken aback.

There was silence in the room until Sherlock's phone, that John was still holding, buzzed.

John read the message and his heart nearly stopped.

_JW_

_So the two of you have figured_ _me out? About time._

_CC_

Sherlock saw the look on John's face and moved behind him to read the message.

"He must have bugged the apartment to listen to our conversation." Sherlock said, not seeming overly bothered by it.

John shook his head. Sherlock hadn't seen it. That was a first.

"Look at the top of the message." John said unable to pull his eyes away.

Sherlock looked back at the message and John finally looked up. He saw the realization cross Sherlock's face and knew he'd seen it too.

"He must have cameras in here or someone watching the apartment." Sherlock said, already looking around for them.

Suddenly his head snapped up and he bolted out the apartment door and down the stairs.

John was just about to follow when Sherlock's phone buzzed again. He looked down and the message he read made his blood run cold.

JW

How's Mary?

CC


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N Hey guys sorry about the delay in update but I have been quite busy. Also sorry in advance for the terrible cliffy. Enjoy:)**

Sherlock re-entered the room and saw John just standing there, staring down at the phone. Sherlock could see that his breathing and pulse had quickened and the colour had drained from his already pale face.

"What is it John?" The detective asked him. It took a lot to rattle John Watson, and to see him standing there almost going into shock scared Sherlock more than he cared to admit. Snapping out of his stupor, John looked up at Sherlock.

Gripping the phone, he spoke. "It's-"

"-Mary." Sherlock said before he could continue. John's face only confirmed his suspicions.

"I thought as much. Where is she?"

"The apartment. We have to go." John replied, fighting down the terror rising in his throat.

He raced out of the apartment with Sherlock at his heels.

"MARY, MARY ARE YOU IN HERE?" John called out as he entered the apartment. He knew however as soon as he looked around that something was wrong. The room was a complete mess. There where bookshelves lying on the floor, tables overturned and, John realised with a sinking feeling, bullet holes in the wall.

"Oh my god" He whispered, crouching down and covering his face with his hands.

Mary was gone.

He heard Sherlock enter the room having stayed behind to pay the cab driver. John heard the sharp intake of breath as he took in the scene. John, collecting himself, stood up and faced Sherlock.

"She's not here" He said, voice cracking.

"I know, I'm sorry John" Sherlock said "But I swear, no matter what it takes I will get her back"

John was about to reply when he heard Sherlock's phone buzz. He grabbed the detectives phone out of his hands before he had a chance to look at the message.

_JW_

_I assume by now you know I have your wife. I suggest not contacting Inspector Lestrade if you ever want to see her alive again. I have sent an address to this phone. Meet me there. The two of you come alone or don't come at all. And remember, the clocks ticking._

_JMS_

John was again, staring shell shocked at the phone. Sherlock gently took the phone from him and read through the message.

"I have the address, are you coming?" He asked John. "I told the cab to wait out the front"

"It's a trap," John said, still slightly dazed.

"Obviously, now are you coming or not?" He asked again, already heading towards the door.

John nodded and followed him out, his heart pounding as he thought of where Mary might be.

Once they where back in the cab, Sherlock glanced over at John and noticed him wringing his hands.

"You know I meant what I said right? No matter what it takes I will get her back." Sherlock said, looking more sincere than John had ever seen him.

"I know, that's what worries me." The conversation ended and the two of them lapsed into a tense silence.

The cab stopped out the front of an office building that had people rushing in and out of it wearing suits and carrying briefcases.

"This can't be good" John muttered as he climbed out the cab.

"Indeed" Sherlock replied, buttoning up his jacket and turning up his collar as he made his way towards the front of the building. John had to jog to keep up with the detectives long strides.

_'At least nothing too bad can happen'_ he thought to himself, relaxing a little._ 'After all, it's a building teeming with people.'_

Sherlock didn't stop until he reached the elevator on the opposite side of the room.

"Where exactly are we going?" John asked Sherlock quietly.

"Level 5, room 13. Doesn't that sound promising?" He replied with a small smirk.

The elevator opened and even more people poured out.

Once they where inside with the doors shut, John turned to Sherlock.

"Why would he he do this in a public building. Doesn't that make he's job even harder?"

"There's a bomb in the building." He replied simply, not looking particularly bothered by it.

"WHAT?" John yelped. "How could you possibly know that?"  
>He added.<p>

"Think about it, the first case of Moriaty's we solved together. What was he doing?

"But that doesn't mean there's a bomb in the building." John replied, knowing he probably shouldn't doubt Sherlock.

"Well if you put all the clues together it's quite obvious. There's our first case with Moriaty, the crowded building and the message." He said in his matter of fact tone.

"Wait, what message?" John asked feeling just as confused as before.

"What else did you think 'the clock is ticking' meant?"

John realized, with a sinking feeling, that Sherlock was right.

"We need to get everyone out of here." He said remembering all the people that were in the building.

"If we do that the bomb will be detonated before we could get them to the door."

"How could you possibly know that?" John asked not wanting to leave the people downstairs unaware if the danger they were in.

"John, it's my job to think like criminals. And your forgetting, this is not the first time I've dealt with this particular one."

John opened his mouth to respond. Before he got the chance however, the elevator stopped and the doors opened.

The two of them stepped out into a deserted hallway. From the looks of things, this part of the building was no longer in use, and hadn't been for some time. They walked along until they found room 13. Sherlock reached for the handle but as he went to turn it, John stopped him.

"Wait" he said, pulling his gun out of his back pocket. He held it out in front of him and nodded to Sherlock.

Sherlock opened the door and John entered first, still holding the gun in front of him. The room was completely bare except for a bright red line drawn through the carpet. On the other side of the room was a door that must've lead to another office. John crossed the line and tried the door, which was locked.

"Damn" he cursed.

Sherlock, who had been examining the back of the door, called out to John.

"Make sure you don't cross the line yet until we know..."

"Too late" John said realizing he had probably just made a huge mistake.

Sherlock's head snapped around and was about to cross the room, when a voice crackled to life over the loudspeaker.

"Nobody move." It said. "Dr Watson and Mr Holmes, how are you?"

John and Sherlock exchange looks across the room. The mans voice was rather charismatic and soft, almost like Moriarty's had been but with a harsher edge to it.

"Oh don't be like that, I wont bite. Hard" The voice said.

"What do you want?" Sherlock asked, surveying the room for cameras and speakers.

"I'm bored." The voice said.

John shuddered at the familiar words

"And unless you want the whole building blowing up, I suggest you do as I say. Now stay where you are."

"Where's Mary?" John asked looking around the room. as i expecting her to be in there somewhere.

"Oh she should be along any minute now."

As he said this, the door Sherlock and John had come through opened, and a man in a black suit pushed Mary into the room. The door slammed shut again and they heard lock click.

"Are you ok?" John asked Mary, unable to see any signs of physical damage. Mary nodded, and opened her mouth to say something, but as interrupted by the voice over the loudspeaker.

"Now that you're all here, let's have some fun." John and Sherlock exchanged another look. It really was unnerving, how much like Moriaty Sanderson was.

"You know of course there's a bomb in the building. You have seven minutes until it goes off, killing everyone in the building."

"Unless...?" John prompted.

"Unless you shoot somebody in the room" He answered. You could practically hear the smile in his voice.

"How do we know your not bluffing?" Sherlock inquired looking at a particular spot on the wall. Most likely the camera he had been looking for.

"And are you really prepared to test that Mr Holmes?" The voice asked.

John could see the gears in Sherlock's head as he tried to figure out a way out of this. He waited patiently. Sherlock always managed to get them out of these situations, and today, he hoped, was no exception.

"Vatican cameo" Sherlock said, and John could see the pain in his face. He realized what Sherlock meant and looked down at his gun. How could he do this. He'd shot men before, but he had never been forced to choose between his best friend and his pregnant wife.

"I'm so sorry John. I truly am."

"That's right boys. No way out of this one. Either John shoots someone or the whole building blows."

Mary, who had only just realized what was going on looked at John.

"I'm sorry John but you know what you need to do. If you kill me our baby dies too."

"I'm not going to bloody shoot my best friend." John said, feeling more than desperate.

"I'm afraid you don't have a choice John" Sherlock said. "Mary's right, you can't shoot her, and I swore to protect you."

"Sherlock just stop, stop it." John said, voice breaking.

"What?" He asked looking genuinely confused.

"You're so eager to sacrifice yourself. I"m not going to shoot you. I cant loose you again. You're my best friend."

Sherlock, for once was lost for words.

"Well isn't this touching. I'm moved, I really am. Two minutes." Sanderson said, completely deadpan and monotone now.

"The clocks ticking John, so whose it gonna be?" John stared between his best friend and his wife. He knew if he didn't pick soon the whole building was going to blow.

_Unless you shoot somebody in the room. _The words swam through his head, and he realized what he had to do.

Slowly he aimed the gun


End file.
